Cannes Market Leader Discusses Tech Advancements at ‘Innovation Village,’ AI Summit Led by Lucasfilm’s Rob Bredow

Brady Corbet’s Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning drama
The Brutalist
ended up at the center of a short-lived awards season whirlwind in January when it came to light that
AI had been used to modify the dialogue
including its lead actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones.

The storm was reduced to a squall.
after Corbet explained
His sound team collaborated with Ukrainian AI voice company Respeecher to “enhance specific vowels and letters for tech-program-with-new-state-of-the-art-facility” title=”Baca lebih lanjut tentang precision”>precision” in the co-stars’ Hungarian-language dialogue, whereas the English-language dialogue remained untouched.

After four months, Alex Serdiuk, the CEO and co-founder of Respeecher, will attend the Cannes Marché du Film for a discussion titled ‘AI Voices for Hollywood and Beyond’. This session will cover aspects of the firm’s work in this field.
The Brutalist
as well as Jacques Audiard’s 2024 Cannes Jury Prize and Oscar winner
Emilia Pérez
.

This event is part of numerous tech- and innovation-centered discussions, panel sessions, and showcases planned for the newly opened Village Innovation within the Market—a 1,000 square-meter venue located in the Pantiero district with views of the historic harbor.

The village includes a portion of the market’s ongoing Cannes Next initiative and emphasizes areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual production, and immersive storytelling. However, it also encompasses various technological facets that overlap with filmmaking.

“The village is an integral component of our broader vision to transform Cannes into a significant hub for innovation, bridging the gap between technology and the filmmaking sector,” states Cannes market director Guillaume Esmiol. “Our objective isn’t to rival tech expos such as CES or IBC; instead, we seek to explore ways in which technological advancements can enhance creative expression.”

Esmiol, who took over from long-time market head Jérôme Paillard in 2023, having begun his career in the digital domain at French TV network TF1, says the time is ripe for the market to move further into the technology space.

“The idea is to get all film professionals engaged with this topic,” he says. “It’s open to everyone, whether they have a market or a festival badge.”

He acknowledges that developments such as generative AI are a divisive issue in the film industry.

“It’s not the market’s role to take a position on whether technology is good or bad. Our role is to explain what’s happening. With AI, whether you like it or not, you still have to understand what’s happening,” he adds.

Other notable features of the program involve an AI project pitch session supervised by the
Sylvester Stallone
A.J. Wedding and Brian Nitzkin’s workshop at the L.A.-based virtual production specialist Orbital Studios will feature the -backed analytics platform Largo.ai.
Snowfall,
History’s Greatest Heists
) delving into Nvidia’s Omniverse platform; a discussion on how filmmakers can utilize generative AI while maintaining their artistic identity, featuring speakers such as the co-founder of Leonine and an Oscar-winning producer
Max Wiedemann
The individual presently serving as the Head of AI for the Mediawan Group, along with a case study involving Paris-based visual effects and animation studio McGuff regarding the tools and methodologies utilized in their Face Creative Engine, which was employed in “Titane,” Julia Ducournau’s 2025 film competing for the Palme d’Or.
Alpha
.

Several Cannes Next conversations will be held outside of the Village Innovation area, including a talk on the market’s main stage featuring Japanese game developer and filmmaker Hideo Kojima and German-Turkish director, both of whom are part of the official selection at Cannes 2025.
Exit 8
and
Amrum
specifically, about the influence of technology on their narrative methods.

Roman Coppola and Leo Matchett will return to the market to talk about DCP+, the streaming service introduced by their blockchain-powered film financing platform Decentralized Pictures. It’s worth noting that this entity is affiliated with American Zentropa as part of its family.

The market aims to elevate discussions about AI through its first-ever one-day AI Summit scheduled for May 15, featuring an opening keynote address from Rob Bredow, Senior Vice President of Creative Innovation, Digital Production & Technology at Lucasfilm & ILM.

The Academy Award-nominated specialist in visual effects, with works including
Solo: A Star Wars Story
,
The Mandalorian
and
Aquaman
, recently delivered a TED talk advocating for ILM’s innovative heritage along with the potential future advancements brought about by artificial intelligence.

The exclusive summit seeks to bring together key decision-makers, tech experts, and innovators to explore conversations about potential investments, collaborative alliances, and the future of AI-powered advancements in film and entertainment industries.

Between 150 to 200 prominent individuals will be invited,” states Esmiol. “This event differs from those held at the Village Innovation, as they are accessible to all; our gathering targets professionals within the film sector who have experience with technology. Our objective is to host an elite summit.

Beyond AI and virtual production, the other key pole of the market’s technology focus is immersive content, in conjunction with the festival’s second Immersive Competition (a reboot of the Cannes XR Competition).

The
16-title 2025 selection
includes
Eloise Singer
Trailblazer
, focusing on German automotive innovator Bertha Benz, which is produced as an episodic series and features voice work from Daisy Ridley; Iranian creator Navid Khonsari’s
Lili
, featuring Zar Amir, who won the Best Actress award at Cannes; directed and produced by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga-Broeren from the Netherlands in the field of immersion.
Lacuna
, looking back at an 80-year-old’s recollections of World War II, and
The Exploding Girl
Last year, the film duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel participated in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight with their feature.
Eat The Night
.

Following last year’s off-site venue, the creations will now be showcased in an exhibit at the Carlton Hotel. “Last year, there were approximately 3,000 sessions, yet the comments we received indicated that it should have been nearer to the primary festival,” explains Esmiol.

A number of contestants will take part in a sequence of discussions titled “Immersive Spotlights” at the Village Innovation.

The market is debuting its first-ever Immersive Market, set aboard the Art Explorer catamaran. This event will center around a week-long Curators Network initiative designed to link museum curators, cultural organizations, and themed entertainment sites with immersive artworks and innovators.

Esmiol states, ‘The contest is handled by the festival, yet we can enhance this endeavor through the marketplace.’ He adds, ‘A major hurdle for immersive pieces lies in their dissemination…last year’s competition garnered significant interest; thus, this year, we put considerable effort into reaching out to curators whom we believed might find such a marketplace appealing.’